Can you speed up uTorrent? Yes, BitTorrent technology, like uTorrent, make downloading large files easy. However, some people are forced to wait hours for a download. There are ways to speed up uTorrent which will allow you to reduce the amount of time it takes to receive a large file .Here is the ultimate guide to speedup Torrent downloads

5 Ways To Speed Up Torrent Downloads :-

1.Go for healthy seeds and peers
A peer is any computer participating in the download and upload of a torrent file. A seed (or seeder) is anyone who has one complete copy of the file being shared across the torrent network. A leech (or a leecher) is the person who does not have the complete file yet but has joined the network to download it. A leecher becomes a seeder when he downloads the entire file and then shares it across the network.

For high torrent speeds, the best bet is in numbers. The greater the number of seeders, the healthier the torrent and the better the chance of higher speeds.The rule of thumb says to choose the torrent files with a high number of seeders and preferably lesser number of leechers i.e. a higher seed-leecher ratio.

2. Bypass the Firewall

Firewalls can block all incoming BitTorrent connections coming through. To ensure otherwise, a firewall should be manually configured to accept the connections and let it through the client.
Windows XP has the Windows Firewall. Configure the firewall installed to accept the connections by checking the BitTorrent client on the allowed list i.e. Options - Preferences – Connection - check Add uTorrent to Windows Firewall.

Also, check the Windows Firewall exception (if you keep it enabled) in your client too. Shutting down the firewall is not recommended as it leaves the computer open to attack.

Note: If the home computer is behind a router, it also should be configured through the feature called Port Range Forwarding to enable torrent traffic. The router documentation should have specific information on this.

3.Use a different port
The default port for the BitTorrent protocol is any between port numbers 6881-6999. ISPs throttle traffic on these ports as BitTorrent sharing involves high bandwidth usage. It’s easy to configure a different port in your torrent client.
Use some number above 10000 to get around ISPs and also avoid problems with other applications. By default, the uTorrent port is randomized each time it starts. Set a specific port by not enabling the Randomize Port setting.

4.Increase the number of Max Half Open TCP connections
This figure specifies how many connections a torrent client should attempt to establish simultaneously at any given time. Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or newer, limits this to a default of 10 as a barrier against virus multiplication. But that’s a bummer for torrent speeds as torrents too need a large number of simultaneous connections.

A patch has been available for a while from LvlLord which modifies the TCPIP.sys file in Windows to allow a higher number of TCP connections.

After running the patch, you have to set the number of connections in your torrent client. For example, in uTorrent go to Options – Preferences – Advanced - net.max_halfopen. Set any number from 50 to 100. But see that net.max_halfopen is set lower than the value set in TCPIP.SYS.

Always check if it is still patched because Windows updates sometimes overwrite it.

5. Use Encryption optionsThis is an often disregarded option. However, it is very important. Your ISP sometimes limits peer to peer traffic such as Bittorrent to avoid a single user hogging the available bandwidth. The ISP know you are using p2p services by analyzing your traffic, aka traffic shaping. Encrypting your traffic helps to avoid the ISPs noticing your bittorent traffic. Here is how to use encryption:
Load uTorrent ,Click Options, Choose Preferences, Click Bittorrent,Choose Forced for Outgoing.,In Protocol Encryption, check the box, Allow incoming legacy connections

DMZ is also a option but in port forwarding u just forward a PARTICULAR port to the outer world

But when u do DMZ , You are putting your machine in fort of the router (i.e) all the ports are exposed to the outer world , this might lead to a security concern .so i would suggest u to do DMZ only when port forwarding is not working